[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 151 (Tuesday, September 20, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S4835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Inflation

  Mrs. CAPITO. Mr. President, since the Biden administration really 
likes to celebrate things, I rise today on the 1-week anniversary of 
their party last Tuesday for their so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
  Last Tuesday, most Americans and, certainly, most West Virginians 
weren't in a celebratory mood. West Virginians started their day with 
news that inflation rose to 8.3 percent in August, while President 
Biden and his party and climate activists began setting up for their 
Inflation Reduction Act party at the White House.
  Meanwhile, that same day, the U.S. stock market had its worst day 
since June 2020, as the White House and its fellow Democrats celebrated 
their green spending bill that would only extend inflationary pain, but 
it does expand U.S. and IRS enforcement on Americans who are struggling 
to afford basic necessities.
  Days after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office published an 
analysis that the Inflation Reduction Act would actually not reduce 
inflation, particularly in the short term, President Biden announces 
that he will do student debt cancelation that would add another 
trillion dollars to the deficit.
  Today and tomorrow, the Federal Reserve, which is our U.S. monetary 
watchdog, is meeting to set new interest rates in a bid to tame 
inflation. The body has had to raise interest rates aggressively by 
three-quarters of a point. In June, Chairman Powell, who is the 
Chairman of the Fed, admitted that the rate increase is ``unusually 
large'' and would not be ``common.'' The Fed will likely raise interest 
rates again by the same amount tomorrow, for the third consecutive time 
in a row. These are the most aggressive rate increases since the 1980s, 
when my mortgage was way into the teens, that Chairman Powell has 
plainly stated will bring ``pain to households and businesses.''
  We can't forget that the Democrats alone passed a bill last year that 
they called the American Rescue Plan, which rescued nothing and, 
instead, endangered our fragile economy coming out of COVID by 
hypercharging inflation. Democrats alone drafted and pushed forward 
their most recent bill, bypassing the normal committee process, and 
Democrats alone passed it, rejecting every Republican amendment along 
the way.
  In short, these policies continue to destabilize every single corner 
of our economy. Well, how do we know this? We see some of the 
statistics that I talk about. Well, I know it because West Virginians 
have lived it, and I hear from them frequently about their legitimate 
concerns. A retiree from Clarksburg, WV, wrote to me recently saying 
that she and her husband are ``struggling every month'' despite having 
done their due diligence to save well for their retirement. She says 
they are trying not to dip into their 401(k)s or their TSP retirement 
accounts but that it is getting ``harder and harder'' not to do that.

  As inflation drags on, the lifespan of retirement savings will 
continue shrinking for our seniors in West Virginia, and those seniors 
account for 41 percent of our population.
  Another West Virginian wrote to me about the tough choices her family 
is making:

       The economy has crumbled in the blink of an eye. My husband 
     and I have full-time jobs and two children. I'm tearful 
     because I sit here looking at upcoming bills and I'm having 
     to decide to pay a bill or buy groceries.

  A resident from Weston, WV, told me that his insurance premiums 
recently increased and, when he asked the company why that happened, 
they told him pointblank it was due to inflation. In the same letter, 
the constituent wrote:

       This crazy spending has to stop.

  But it is not just West Virginians who are experiencing this 
inflationary problem. The National Defense Industrial Association, 
authored in part by former Deputy Defense Secretary David Norquist, 
released a white paper recently that indicated inflation has cost the 
Department of Defense $50 billion and estimates that it will cost an 
additional $110 billion to our Nation's defense from fiscal year 2021 
through fiscal year 2023.
  Think about this in the face of what we are talking about in terms of 
trying to help Ukraine overcome this terrible invasion by the Russians.
  Residential real estate has skyrocketed 43 percent in the past 2 
years. In fact, this year, mortgage rates have risen from 3.2 percent 
to 6.3 percent, which is the highest they have been since 2008--setting 
all kinds of records here. So some are going so far as to predict an 
additional 17.8 percent rise in home prices over the next year.
  A recent paper released by Goldman Sachs, aptly titled ``The Housing 
Downturn: Further to Fall,'' warns that higher mortgage rates and 
reduced affordability will continue well into 2023. For first-time home 
buyers, that spells a death knell for their dream of owning their own 
home.
  Again, what we are seeing in realtime are direct consequences of 
inflation fueled by spending. The increase in the price of groceries is 
unbelievable. It is unbelievable when you go to the grocery store. Over 
the past year, the price of basic pantry staples has continued to 
increase. The cost of eggs has gone up 40 percent; butter, 24.6 
percent; luncheon meats, 18.2 percent. Fresh milk has increased 17.7 
percent. Sugar, flour, bread, pasta, peanut butter, and cereals have 
increased between 15 and 23 percent. These are the things that families 
buy weekly to meet their grocery bill and to provide their children's 
breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  Simply put, elected Democrats in the Biden administration celebrated 
the so-called Inflation Reduction Act on a day when the Consumer Price 
Index on inflation increased. For the many constituents whom I talk to 
on a daily basis, inflation remains the No. 1 concern.
  So this irony is not lost on me nor is it lost on the American 
public. It is not lost on millions of Americans making tough choices 
because of these policies, and it is painful; it is hard to watch; and 
in many of my constituents' opinion, it is as if the President and his 
party are not paying attention.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Iowa.
  Ms. ERNST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the vote occur 
now.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.